Reuters U.S. Sports Schedule at 2 PM EST on Thursday, May 28
May 28 (Reuters) - Reuters U.S. sports schedule at 2 PM ET on Thursday: - - - - The duty editor is Steve Ginsburg, 202-898-8427 - - - - SOCCER Blatter defies calls to quit as FIFA scandal widens ZURICH- The corruption charges engulfing soccer's governing body heaps shame and humiliation on the game, FIFA President Sepp Blatter says, although he flatly rejects calls to resign over the scandal. (SOCCER-FIFA/ (WRAPUP 4, moved; will be led, by Mike Collett and Brian Homewood, 854 words) Note: We continue to write on the many aspects of the FIFA scandal. The stories listed below are just a sampling. - - World's policeman wins rare applause for FIFA crackdown BERLIN - The United States has infuriated some of its closest allies in recent years by fining their banks and spying on their citizens. But its latest extra-territorial salvo, a crackdown on graft at soccer's global governing body, is winning wide applause abroad. (SOCCER-FIFA/USA-POWER, moved, by Noah Barkin, 984 words) - - Emotional Platini says Blatter must go for good of FIFA ZURICH - UEFA president Michel Platini delivers one of his most emotional and animated performances since his playing days as he says it's time for Sepp Blatter to quit as president of FIFA with world soccer's body facing yet another corruption crisis. (SOCCER-FIFA/UEFA (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV), moved, by Brian Homewood, 824 words) - - Smarting South Africa minister defends 'Mandela's' World Cup JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's sports minister jumps to defend the nation's reputation following U.S. allegations that the government was involved in bribery to secure the 2010 World Cup, the crowning achievement of the post-apartheid state. (SOCCER-FIFA/SAFRICA (UPDATE 1), moved, by Ed Cropley, 650 words) - - IOC's own bitter lessons could prove useful for FIFA BERLIN - FIFA could learn from the lessons of the International Olympic Committee's own bribery affair as it battles to survive the biggest corruption scandal world soccer has ever seen. (SOCCER-FIFA/OLYMPICS, moved, by Karolos Grohmann, 585 words) See also: IOC president tells FIFA it's time to clean up its act (SOCCER-FIFA/BACH (PIX) - - - - NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE OTA roundup: Romo revs up Organized Team Activities continue with the Dallas Cowboys on a mission to move on from 2014 Offensive Player of the Year DeMarco Murray. (FBN-ROUNDUP-OTAs/, expect by 7:30 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 600-800 words) - - Agent: Russell Wilson in no rush for contract The agent for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson says there is no rush on Wilson's behalf to get a new deal done. (FBN-SEAHAWKS-NEWS/, expect by 3 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - Chargers renew stadium talks The San Diego Chargers are continuing their mission to build a replacement stadium for their nearly 60-year old gameday home, but the franchise might have to pick up more of the bill to get it done. (FBN-CHARGERS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 250 words) - - Broncos' Manning center of attention again ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has some experience taking snaps from under center. However, in recent years, he became accustomed to taking a majority of snaps from the shotgun, which helped maintain the offense's tempo but didn't always help add balance via the running game. (FBN-BRONCOS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 325 words) - - Peterson: 'Absence not related to trade, go Vikings' In the first clear sign since his suspension that Adrian Peterson plans to return to the Minnesota Vikings, he says he is not at OTAs because of business, not because he wants a trade. (FBN-VIKINGS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 300 words) - - NFL roundup News and notes from around the league. (FBN-NOTEBOOK/, expect by 7:45 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Mychal Thompson: Klay woozy, vomiting after Game 5 Former NBA player Mychal Thompson drove his son and Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson home Wednesday night following Golden State's Western Conference finals win and says the All-Star was woozy and vomited twice. Klay Thompson must pass concussion protocol to return when the NBA Finals begin June 4. (BKN-WARRIORS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 415 words) See also: Warriors open as Finals favorite (BKN-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 150 words) - - Bulls fire Thibodeau A dysfunctional front office relationship and noted communication issues helped sink Tom Thibodeau after five seasons as Chicago Bulls head coach, team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf says. (BKN-BULLS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 477 words) - - FEATURE: What's next for Clippers after season of rich promise ends early? LOS ANGELES - As the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors prepare to battle for the NBA championship, the Los Angeles Clippers can only reflect on what might have been after a season of rich and timely promise ended abruptly. (NBA-CLIPPERS/FUTURE (FEATURE), expect by 5 PM ET, by Mark Lamport-Stokes, 650 words) - - Today's NBA schedule at a glance No games scheduled. - - - - GOLF PGA Tour: AT&T Byron Nelson, Irving, Texas Spieth to tee off with fellow young guns at Byron Nelson Masters champion, hometown favorite and world No. 2 Jordan Spieth launches his title bid in the company of fellow American young guns Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas in the opening round at the TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas. (GOLF-PGA/ (PIX), expect first lead by 6 PM ET, 400 words) - - Misfiring McIlroy faces missing cut for second week running NEWCASTLE, Northern Ireland - World No. 1 Rory McIlroy faces missing the cut for a second straight week after posting a nine-over-par 80 in the opening round at his home event, the Irish Open. (GOLF-EUROPEAN/, moved, by Bernie McGuire, 349 words) - - - - MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Arm strength issue for Yankees' Tanaka NEW YORK - For the second time in less than a week, an overflow crowd of New York media and Japanese reporters fill a minor league stadium's press box to watch a Masahiro Tanaka rehab start. His velocity and stamina are heavily criticized. (BBO-YANKEES-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Larry Fleisher, 393 words) - - Mets thinking big, and long-term, with six-man staff NEW YORK - New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson says the club's planned experiment with a six-man rotation was something he " ... wouldn't call temporary, but is certainly not permanent." (BBO-METS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - Mariners climb above .500 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Seattle Mariners haven't been at .500 since the opening week of the season, but with five wins in six games and a 23-23 record, Seattle has momentum heading into an 11-game homestand. (BBO-MARINERS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Greg Auman, 319 words) - - Today's MLB schedule at a glance - - American League Chicago White Sox at Baltimore (2), 1:05 PM ET, TBD Boston at Texas, 8:05 PM ET (PIX) Detroit at Los Angeles Angels, 10:05 PM ET (PIX) New York Yankees at Oakland, 10:05 PM ET (PIX) Cleveland at Seattle, 10:10 PM ET (PIX) - - National League Pittsburgh at San Diego, 10:10 PM ET (PIX) Atlanta at San Francisco, 10:15 PM ET (PIX) - - MLB Roundup Running capsule recaps of all the games on the MLB schedule. (MLB-ROUNDUP/, expect first version ASAP after conclusion of the first game of the day, The Sports Xchange, 500 words) - - - - WOMEN'S COLLEGE SOFTBALL Women's College World Series A roundup of the day's action in Oklahoma City, where SEC teams are the story. (MSC-NEWS/, The Sports Xchange, expect multiple versions, final to move following 9 PM ET game, 400 words) - - - - NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Blackhawks force Game 7 CHICAGO - Experience played a factor in Game 6, when the Chicago Blackhawks lived to fight another game against the Anaheim Ducks. (HKN-BLACKHAWKS-DUCKS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Jerry Bonkowski, 700 words) - - Penguins' Bylsma bolting for Buffalo? Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma is reportedly on the verge of becoming head coach of the Buffalo Sabres. (HKN-PENGUINS-LIGHTNING-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - GM Murray: 2015-16 last with Senators Senators general manager Bryan Murray, who is battling Stage 4 colon cancer, says he plans to shift to an advisory role with Ottawa following the 2015-16 season. (HKN-SENATORS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 200 words) - - Today's NHL schedule at a glance No games scheduled. - - - - AUTO RACING Racing Glance Capsule previews of the weekend ahead on auto racing. (CAR-PREVIEW/, The Sports Xchange, by Jerry Bonkowski, 425 words) - - Two-for-one in Detroit after Indianapolis month DETROIT - The IndyCar Series moves on from a month in Indianapolis in a big way, racing twice this weekend and four times in the next 16 days. (CAR-IRL-PREVIEW/, The Sports Xchange, 505 words) - - Montoya might be best of generation Wheels writer Jonathan Ingram investigates the greatness of Juan Pablo Montoya, perhaps the best driver of his generation. (CAR-COLUMN/, The Sports Xchange, by Jonathan Ingram, 1,100 words) - - - - BUSINESS Visa threatens to ditch FIFA as sponsor dismay mounts NEW YORK/BERLIN - Visa tells FIFA it could end its sponsorship if soccer's governing body does not act fast to restore the reputation of the game after senior officials were arrested on corruption charges. (SOCCER-FIFA/SPONSORS (UPDATE 3, GRAPHIC), moved, by Anjali Athavaley and Emma Thomasson, 1,091 words) - - - - TENNIS The French Open, Paris, France Serena escapes as women's seeds continue to fall PARIS - The pre-tournament shortlist of favorites for the French Open women's crown continues to shrink and for a while it looked as though the name of top seed Serena Williams would also vanish. (TENNIS-OPEN/ (PIX, UPDATE 2), moved; will be led, by Martyn Herman, 696 words) Note: There are many additional sidebars from Roland Garros. The stories listed below are just a sampling. - - Serena scolds herself for unprofessional display PARIS - Defeat is never an option for Serena Williams, but the world No. 1 comes close to an embarrassing second-round exit at the French Open after an 'unprofessional' display. (TENNIS-OPEN/SERENA (PIX, UPDATE 1), moved, by Julien Pretot, 459 words) - - Solid Nadal dismisses Almagro to reach third round PARIS - If Rafa Nadal was looking for an opponent to help him find his Roland Garros rhythm, Nicolas Almagro was the perfect candidate. (TENNIS-OPEN/NADAL (PIX, UPDATE 1), moved, by Julien Pretot, 383 words) - - - - NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (Expect by 8 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words)
